We can’t get enough of Paul Poirier right now.
The out Olympic ice dancer and his partner Piper Gilles competed recently at the World Figure Skating Championships in Japan, placing third in both the rhythm dance and free dance. It was the pair’s second World bronze medal.
Per usual, they looked stunning together on the ice. Poirier was kind enough to share some of the highlights on Instagram.
Heading into the championship, Poirier and Gillis were circumspect about whether this will be their final season together. “We haven’t given ourselves a day to think about it,” Poirier told Olympics.com.
But if this is the end of their decade-plus run, Poirier and Gillis are going out on top. This season, they captured gold at Grand Prix stops in Canada and Finland before winning the Grand Prix Final in December.
That doesn’t mean it’s been an entirely smooth journey, however. Gillis suffered an appendicitis at the start of the new year, sidelining the pair for February’s Four Continents Championships (two Americans, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, won gold).
The World Championships were the duo’s first competition of 2023–making their third-place finish even more impressive.
Poirier won his first medal on the international stage at the 2008 World Junior Championships, when he was just 17 years old. The Canadian publicly came out as gay in June 2021–along with two other figure skaters, including U.S. Olympic medalist Jason Brown.
In his coming out interview, Poirier spoke about how he’s come to appreciate the power of his platform, especially in regards to providing visibility for LGBTQ+ athletes.
He says it was one of his primary motivations for publicly coming out.
“Pride month is a really good opportunity to share a bit more about my story, how my sexuality has made me the person and the athlete that I am today, and also perhaps be a role model for so many young queer athletes who are growing up and not really sure how to navigate that as they go through the world of sport,” he told the Toronto-based magazine Glory.
That’s a noble reason to come out. Believe it or not, there actually weren’t any prominent out male figure skaters until recently, and zero competed at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Less than 10 years later, eight competed at the Beijing Games, including Poirier. His courageous decision to share his story will likely only lead to that number increasing in the years to come.
Speaking of the Beijing Games, though Poirier and Gillis didn’t medal, their outfits were show-stealing. They wore bright orange costumes with gold sequins and rainbow-colored feathers–an apparent nod to Poirier competing his first Olympics as an out gay man (there were at least 36 out LGBTQ+ athletes at the Winter Games).
Poirier’s athletic career has blossomed since coming out, and it’s apparent he’s loving every moment. His smile is infectious (and really cute)!
His Instagram grid is unapologetically gay. And the following photo dump screams “hot gay summer,” right down to his platinum blonde hair starting on slide three.
In addition to being a world-class figure skater, Poirier is also a Lululemon ambassador. We wouldn’t be opposed if more brands want to offer Poirier modeling gigs.
Anything that gets him in front of a camera more is a good thing!
Scroll down for even more shots of this decorated Olympian (and check out his thighs!)…
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Driven features stories and interviews highlighting the thrill of the queer journey, celebrating tenacious LGBTQers whose courage to be themselves fuels their drive to succeed.
Colorado Couple
Gorgeous! And, seems like a very sweet guy.
ingyaom
I thought I was clicking on another Omar Apollo story.
Plato
I would go with:
1) Calves
2) Glutes
3) Smile
4) Thighs
Diplomat
Oddest thing: after cueing a few of his vids on Google, it became evident he does no axles nor do his skating partners. Darndest thing.
Den
Neither odd nor darned. He competes in Ice Dancing. They do not do jumps though they do some lifts. They are judged on different criteria, more aesthetic, less athletic. More footwork, flow and unison, less strength and speed.
Den
While it is a subset of Figure Skating, it is very different. The title of the article is misleading and should have called him an Olympic Ice Dancer. Also Ice Dancing only has pairs competition. There are no individual programs like figure skaters do: specifically because dancers don’t do any jumps which are the centerpiece of individual routines.
scotty
not unrelated but eric heiden had some wicked thighs. and im not telling viscious lies (apologies of a sort to jerri blank)